The Geographic Names layer, published by the State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection, contains information about the natural, physical and some cultural features in Connecticut and nearby portions of Massachusetts, New York and Rhode Island. This is the Department of Environmental Protection's repository for geographic feature names information and includes bars, bays, beaches, channels, cliffs, falls, flats, gaps, hills, hill ranges, islands, lakes, ledges, points, populated places, reefs, ridges, rivers, rocks, swamps, towns, and valleys. It does not include structures and facilities such as airports, bridges, cemeteries, churches, highways, hospitals, parks, railroads, roads, schools, towers, or universities. This Geographic Names layer is based on some information from the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS), published by the U.S. Geological Survey, and from spatial data and hard copy maps compiled by the State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection. The layer is comprised of point features with information in related data tables that hold the unique identification number, name, short name, alternate name and type of each geographically named feature. This layer describes the location of each geographically named feature by state and by Connecticut town (municipality). Data is compiled at 1:24,000 scale and is periodically updated.

Geographic Names is 1:24,000-scale data used to cartographically label or center small-sized maps on geographically named features. The layer includes two sets of point features. One set of points is for labeling maps with the feature names; the other set of points is for centering (navigating) maps on these features. A geographically named feature such as a river or hill may be represented by one or more map label or map navigation point, depending on the geographic area it encompasses. Typically, long rivers are labeled with more than one map label point and include a map navigation point feature for each town they pass through. Conversely, the same point feature is used to both label and navigate a map to smaller geographically named features such as hills, populated places, and valleys. For best results, map label points are labeled without showing (symbolizing) the point features on the map. Simply assign no color to the point symbol, and position the label text to the upper right of the point location. Note that map label and map navigation points do not represent true locations for these features. Specifically, map label points are cartographically placed near and not directly on the feature they label. Points used for labeling maps are assigned a group or scale level attribute value that can be used to control the number of features labeled at different map scales. Over six groups (scale levels) of map label point features can be queried and labeled. The set of map navigation points includes point features for centering maps on the portion of each Connecticut town each geographically named feature is located in. Use this layer with other 1:24,000-scale map data such as the Hydrography, Waterbody, Named Waterbody, and Town layers also published by the State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection. The line and polygon features that make up the Hydrography, Waterbody, Named Waterbody layers are also assigned similar scale level attribute values, which can be used with the Geographic Names layer to control water features both shown and labeled at different map scale ranges. To access all attribute information, relate these Geographic Name point features to the GeoName data table and Town data table using the GEONAME_NO and TOWN_NO as join key fields, respectively. Not intended for hard copy maps printed at map scales greater or more detailed than 1:24,000 scale (1 inch = 2,000 feet.) For official geographic names, use the GNIS layer published by the USGS.

For additional information about the national Geographic Names Information System, contact the U.S. Geological Survey at www.geonames.usgs.gov. Depending on data format, additional related attribute data tables may not included with the distributed data, but are available upon request. Refer to the Entity And Attribute Overview section of this metadata for descriptions of these related data tables.

Many feature names are derived from the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS), which was developed by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the U.S. Board of Geographic Names. The names of rivers, streams, brooks, reservoirs, lakes and ponds were originally compiled and mapped from various sources, including GNIS, by James Bogar, a Cartographer with the State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection.

ground condition

None. The data is in the public domain and may be redistributed.

No restrictions or legal prerequisites for using the data. The data is suitable for use at appropriate scale, and is not intended for maps printed at scales greater or more detailed than 1:24,000 scale (1 inch = 2,000 feet). Although this data set has been used by the State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection, no warranty, expressed or implied, is made by the State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection as to the accuracy of the data and or related materials.  The act of distribution shall not constitute any such warranty, and no responsibility is assumed by the State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection in the use of these data or related materials. The user assumes the entire risk related to the use of these data. Once the data is distributed to the user, modifications made to the data by the user should be noted in the metadata. When printing this data on a map or using it in a software application, analysis, or report, please acknowledge the State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection as the source for this information. For example, include the following data source description when printing this layer on a map: Place Names - From the Geographic Names layer, compiled and published by CT DEP and USGS. Source map scale is 1:24,000.

Information encoded about these point features is used to cartographically label or center small-sized maps on geographically named features. This feature class includes two sets of points. One set is for labeling maps with geographic names and the other set is for navigating (centering) a map on individual geographically named features such as a hill or pond. Some points are only used for map labeling purposes, some points are only used for map navigation purposes, and some points are used for both a map labeling and a map navigation purposes. Two attributes, ISMAPLABEL and ISMAPNAV, define these two sets of points.

Map Label Points - ISMAPLABEL = "True"

Use the ISMAPLABEL, STATE_COD and SCALELEVEL attributes to define a set of map label points appropriate for display at a particular map scale. For example, use the SQL expression, ISMAPLABEL = "True", to define a layer with all map label points. Use the SQL expression, ISMAPLABEL = "True" and STATE_COD = "CT", to define a layer with map label points for Connecticut. For example, use the SQL expression, ISMAPLABEL = "True" and STATE_COD = "CT" and SCALELEVEL <= 5, to define a layer with map label points appropriate for display in Connecticut between 1:75,000 and 1:100,000 scale. Or use the SQL expression, ISMAPLABEL = "True" and STATE_COD = "CT" and SCALELEVEL <= 6, to define a layer with Connecticut map label points appropriate for display between 1:24,000 and 1:75,000 scale. Typically, map label points are labeled without showing the actual point features on the map.  Do not symbolize point features; assign them no color. Just label the points with their geographic name. Create label classes according to geographic name categories and assign different text symbology to each class. For example, geographic names that are hills are typically labeled with black text and water bodies are usually blue. The CATEGORY attribute in (the related GeoName data table) classifies features according to whether each one is a bay, beach, hill, lake, populated place, waterbody, etc. So geographic name labels based on CATEGORY = "Hill" can be shown in black, and geographic name labels with CATEGORY = "Waterbody" can be shown in blue. It is possible to reduce the number of classes and achieve the same labeling results by using the AV_LEGEND or IMS_LEGEND attribute to classify labels into broader categories than those provide by the CATEGORY attribute. AV_LEGND and IMS_LEGEND attributes combine features into a smaller number of categories for the purpose of simplifying the assignment of label text symbology to similar types of geographically named features. Also, position the label text to the upper right of the point location and use the SHORT_NAME attribute as the label field for all map label point features. 

Map Navigation Points - ISMAPNAV = "True"

Use the SQL expression, ISMAPNAV = "True", to define a map navigation layer with center points for navigating maps to all geographically named features. Use the NAVSCALE attribute to obtain an appropriate map scale for centering the map on a particular map navigation point. Map navigation points are not to be visually displayed on a map. Rather, they are intended to be used as a data source for gazetteer and place name-searching applications where a form is used to search for a geographically named place that the map can be panned to. There is one map navigation point for each Connecticut town that a geographically named feature is located in. For example, a hill will have one map navigation point located in the one town that the top of the hill is located in. However, a river will have a map navigation point located on the river in each town that it flows through. Use the NAME attribute when searching and querying for map navigation point features by geographic name.

Other Attributes

The STATE_COD and TOWN_NO attributes encode which state and Connecticut town each point feature is located in. Use the TOWN_NO attribute as the join key field to the Town data table with the TOWN attribute that holds the town name. Use the GEONAME_NO attribute as the join key field to the GeoName attribute data table with the NAME and SHORT_NAME fields that hold the full and abbreviated name of the feature such as "Connecticut River" and "Connecticut R", respectively. Use the SHORT_NAME attribute as the label field for all map label point features. Use the NAME attribute when searching and querying for map navigation point features by geographic name. Use the DATA_SRC, SRC_KEY, and SRC_KEYVAL attributes to reference (link) the geographic names to features in other source data layers such as Hydrography Master. 

Point features for labeling and centering maps on geographically named features.

State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection

Point features conform to the following topological rules. Points are single part. There are no duplicate points. However, point features may exactly overlap in situations where the same coordinate location is the basis for defining map navigation points for centering the map on two or more overlapping features. For example, overlapping map navigation points may exist for a named lake and the named stream it is part of or a named bay and the named stream that flows into it. Overlapping map navigation points are allowed if they represent different geographically named features. Overlapping map label points for the same geographically named feature are infrequent and only allowed if their SCALELEVEL values differ. Note that map navigation points for lakes and bays represent centroids for the largest polygon area in each Connecticut town the lake or bay is located. For rivers, map navigation points are either based on the centroid for the largest polygon area or the mid point for the longest single-line stream feature in each Connecticut town the stream is located. For large features such as rivers and lakes located completely or partially out of state, only one map navigation point feature exists for each state outside of Connecticut the waterbody is located. No tests were performed to guarantee desired topology other than visual inspection following a combined manual and semi-automated process of creating these point features.

This dataset contains information about natural, physical and some cultural features in Connecticut and nearby portions of Massachusetts, New York and Rhode Island identified by the State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection. Data is periodically updated as additional categories of features are included and as errors are corrected.

The Geographic Names layer retains the feature types and information identified by the State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection. Initially based on information from the USGS GNIS, feature content and attribute information was modified in order to create a layer with multi-purpose point features that serve both map labeling and map navigation functions. Feature level links back to the original GNIS data are not preserved. Feature level links to named river, lake, and bay (hydrography) features maintained by CT DEP are preserved. All attributes have valid values. Values are within defined domains. The accuracy test for most attributes was conducted though a systematic and iterative process of visually verifying the information against the compilation data source such as 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle maps and spatial data layers of named waterbody features maintained by CT DEP. This data quality review process was conducted over a period of many years as new categories of features were added to the Geographic Names layer and as errors were corrected and improvements were made to other layers upon which this layer is based, such as the Hydrography Master layer published by CT DEP.

Point features are approximate representations for labeling and navigating (panning maps) to large area objects (e.g. populated places, hills, sandy beaches, reefs) or areas having well-defined, visible, recoverable, or permanent boundaries or demarcations (e.g. rivers, streams, brooks, reservoirs, lakes, ponds, municipalities). Point features do not accurately reflect the true locations for these geographically named features, but rather where to either cartographically label or center a map on geographically named features, usually at 1:24,000 scale. Most map label point features were manually positioned to avoid conflicts with the features they label; other nearby map labels; and nearby surface water features, transportation features, and built-up areas depicted on USGS 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle maps. The horizontal positional accuracy of this data is no better the United States National Map Accuracy Standards for 1:24,000 scale maps. According to this standard, not more than 10 percent of the locations tested are to be in error by more than 1/50 inch (40 feet) measured on the publication scale of a USGS 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle map.

Connecticut Geographic Names

Although this data set  has been used by the State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection, no warranty, expressed or implied, is made by the State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection as to the accuracy of the data and or related materials.  The act of distribution shall not constitute any such warranty, and no responsibility is assumed by the State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection in the use of these data or related materials. The user assumes the entire risk related to the use of these data. Once the data is distributed to the user, modifications made to the data by the user should be noted in the metadata.

Geographic information sytem (GIS), computer-aided drawing or other mapping software is necessary to display, view and access the information.

The data distributor does not provide custom GIS analysis or mapping services. Data is available in a standard format and may be converted to other formats, projections, coordinate systems, or selected for specific geographic regions by the party receiving the data.